Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

KANSAS CITY, MO (November 28, 2012) — The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Luis Santos and left-hander Luis Rico from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for right-handed pitcher Vin Mazzaro and first baseman Clint Robinson.  Santos and Rico have been assigned to the Surprise Royals.

The 21-year-old Santos pitched for both Dominican Pirates clubs last season, combining for a 6-3 record and a 2.44 ERA in 14 games, including 12 starts.  In 62.2 innings, he allowed 42 hits, walked 20 and struck out 74 while holding opponents to a .184 average.  The 6-foot Santos is from Bonao, Dominican Republic, and was signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent on April 8, 2011.

Rico, who will turn 19 tomorrow, is a 6-foot-1, 180-pounder from Guanta, Venezuela.  He went 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) in 2012 for the Dominican Pirates.  Rico made his debut in 2011 with the Venezuelan Pirates after signing with Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent on April 9, 2011.

Mazzaro, 26, and Robinson, 27, were designated for assignment by the Royals on November 20.

The kings of irrelevant success are at it early in 2012. After putting together winning Septembers in three of the last four seasons, your 2012 Kansas City Royals have started the month of August at 10-6, perhaps starting their annual trek up the standings one month ahead of time. Still trailing their division leader by 13 games, this recent hot streak means little even if it’s continued at its current pace for the next 45 days, so what does matter as we head down the stretch? Here are five numbers that I think are far more important than how many games the Royals win in the next 6 weeks.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

1. Johnny Giavotella’s fielding percentage. Technically it may actually be more important what his defense looks like to Ned Yost. We all know the Royals aren’t the most interested team in advanced defensive metrics, so it definitely doesn’t matter what his UZR looks like. Regardless, second base is the one place the Royals could most significantly improve their offense in 2013(besides right field, and Jeff Francoeur is going nowhere), assuming Giavotella can prove to management that his glove will play.
2. Jeremy Guthrie’s contract. Guthrie has clearly earned himself a two year deal from Dayton Moore at the minimum. There is nothing more that Moore loves than featuring a player that makes him look smart, and getting anything at all for Jonathan Sanchez looks brilliant. If it’s a two year deal for $14 million, I’m good with it…and it may signal the end of the Luke Hochevar era. If it’s a three year deal for $30 million and Guthrie is starting on Opening Day next year, I’ll be furious.
3. Billy Butler’s home run total. Should this matter? Not really,  but it’s been a sore spot for fans for far too long and could be the only thing to drive fans to the park the couple of weeks of the season. Butler needs twelve home runs over his last 44 games to break the most embarrassing franchise record in baseball. He hit 11 in 44 games earlier in the year, so it’s certainly possible.
4. Wil Myers’ games played. The only thing that would make any sense at all would be if the Royals bring Myers up in September and let him play nearly every day. If they don’t I’m really going to have some questions about their plans for him. The only reasonable explanation to me would be that they plan on trading him this winter and don’t want him exposed at the big league level.
5. Alex Gordon’s batting average. I am shocked that Ned Yost chose to mess with Gordon’s place in the order yet again. Let me rephrase that, I would be shocked if a competent manager chose to jerk a player around as much as Yost has with Gordon. Gordon is clearly most comfortable in the lead off role. Yost is clearly uncomfortable with someone batting lead off with that high of an on base percentage.

I know this makes me far from unique, but as a young man growing up in Kansas City that dreamed of being a journalist, I became quite enamored with Joe Posnanski. Posnanski, of course, was a star columnist at the Kansas City Star along with Jason Whitlock. Both went on to bigger and better things in far different ways, and both were incredible columnists. While Whitlock had a way of dividing a city on seemingly any topic, Posnanski was much more subtle. He could write something you already knew, something you were already thinking, and make you care about it more than you ever had. Whitlock could make you feel things about him….Posnanski made you feel things about you.

Okay, if you’re still with me I’m sure you’re wondering what this has to do with our Kansas City Royals. Well, seemingly because the current English language cannot fully express his literary genius, Posnanski has on his blog started JoeWords. This is awesome, and I encourage you to read it, but for the purposes of this article I just want to focus on one of them:

Clemenate (KLEM-a-nayt), verb, to hate an athlete in an entirely healthy, fun sports way (rather than hating them in a crazed, stalking, loaded gun, insane sort of way). Ex. Jonathan Sanchez is making himself far too easy to clemenate this season.

This week saw a flurry of commentary about Sanchez. 610 Sports ran a gag trying to get him blocked from Twitter, Ryan Lefebvre and Rex Hudler bother questioned how much Sanchez loved baseball, and Bob Dutton wrote a scathing piece about the Royals refusal to consider shipping Sanchez out. However, the one that really caught my eye came from Minda Haas. Minda is an outstanding photographer and a good friend of I70 baseball, and this week she wrote this.

Minda is right in many regards, most notably that baseball players are people too and their life need not revolve around baseball for them to be successful. I also agree that personal attacks against baseball players based on their performance are unwarranted, and I think this is what Posnanski was trying to capture when he created the word clemenate.

I don’t hate Jonathan Sanchez, but I clemenate him with ounce of my baseball loving soul. I clemenate his attitude, because it’s hard to watch him play the game and think he cares even a little. I clemenate his methods, because watching him pitch, even when he’s getting people out, is equal parts maddening and sleep inducing. Mostly though I clemenate what he has done to this Royals season.

The Royals are 3-7 in his ten starts this season and he’s given them an average of 4 2/3 innings per start. Every time it seems like the Royals are about to get on a hot streak, Sanchez kills all momentum an uninspiring walk-filled performance. Young teams are streaky, and this Royals team has lived up to that billing, but it’s tough to streak too far in the right direction when you know you’re sending Sanchez to the mound every 5 days.

The bottom line is, Sanchez must go…quickly. We’ve seen far too many young stars grow disenchanted with the Royals version of “trying” to win. You can not in good faith tell Eric Hosmer or Mike Moustakas that we’re trying to win when you continue to send Sanchez to the mound.

Minor League baseball is truly a joy.  Seeing a combination of players that may or may not be the next best thing in your organization can carry a feeling of something special on any given night.

Last night in Omaha, the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, the stars aligned in a way that happens very seldom.  A combination of rehabbing major leaguers, top prospects, and an ace level starting pitcher just starting his 2012 conditioning converged on Werner Park to put on a show for a sell-out crowd.

Roy Oswalt would toe the mound for the visiting Round Rock Express, finding Royals prospect Jake Odorizzi opposing him in relief of another rehabbing major leaguer, Everett Teaford.  The Storm Chasers’ lineup would feature Chris Getz and Salvador Perez beginning their rehab assignments for the parent club as well as one of the top professional hitters at any level, Wil Myers.  The game would not disappoint in any way, especially for the home crowd.

After Teaford got his work in over two innings, Odorizzi would throw six and two-thirds innings of one run baseball to ensure a win for the home team.  Odorizzi would string together 10 strikeouts over only two walks on his way to a victory over the opposing ace.  Roy Oswalt?  He did not fare so well.

The third inning would be the downfall of Oswalt as he would give up a lead-off double to Anthony Seratelli he would get one out before surrendering three consecutive base hits loading the bases.  With bases juiced full of Storm Chasers, Wil Myers stepped to the plate.  In just 18 AAA games, he has already hit five home runs, adding to his 13 home runs in 35 AA games this season.  His 19th homer of the season would come on a 2-0 count as a grand slam off one of the most successful major league pitchers in recent memory.

The Storm Chasers would put a win on the board with a final score of 7-2 over the Round Rock Express.

Our favorite Royals photographer, Minda Haas, was on hand last night in Omaha to catch all the action and fun.  Below you will find a photo gallery of 50 pictures from Minda, with everyone from Teaford and Myers to Sal Perez and Roy Oswalt featured.  Enjoy the look at a truly special night through a very talented eye.

Feel free to use the buttons below to scroll through all the photos.

Anthony Seratelli Double Down The Line

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 49

All rights reserved by Minda Haas

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.
Follow him on Twitter here.

With inter league play about to be in full swing the Kansas City Royals seem to be in a pretty good position to make a move in the later part of the month of June. With scheduled off days in the right spots Ned Yost will not have to worry about filling out a 5 man rotation for a few weeks, a luxury for him since not everyone has been up to par on the mound lately. The one snag that he could run into is the recent “injury” of starter Felipe Paulino who may or may not miss his next scheduled start.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

On the other hand it may light a fire under one player and one player alone. Eric Hosmer, whom has been showing much improvement over the last couple of weeks, will have to continue to progress or he may get bumped if Robinson comes up and kills the ball. The Royals need one of them to step up and hit for some power for the team to come out in top of their inter league schedule.

The one thing that I know I am worried about and may be in the back of the minds of many of the Royals faithful is if we had another Kila Ka’aiahue on out hands. A guy that displayed a lot of power in the minor leagues and never could cut it in the big league. As we saw even more evident when the offensively challenged Oakland Athletics cut the “slugging Hawaiian” earlier this week. So if he is like Ka’aiahue he would be a bust but the difference is the fact that Robinson has hit for better averages all throughout his career. With Kila it seemed to be extra base hits or bust but Robinson can get the base knock thrown in their with the power to go with.

As a lifelong Royals I always love when the longtime minor leaguers who have paid their dues over years of bus rides and 2-star dining finally get their big chance to shine. Now don’t get me wrong I love the stars that come up after only a few years of development but it’s the guys who had not complained staid by and waited there turn who seem to not let it go to waist. Like fans saw earlier in the season with Irving Falu maybe Robibson can shed some light on a dark offense of the past. In the words of Rex Hudler. “You go ahead, Clint Robinson, you take Kansas Itt by storm.”

Patience is truly a virtue.  For Kansas City Royals third basemen, Mike Moustakas, there is no statement more true.  Known as a notoriously slow starter, Moustakas seems to finally becoming the Major League baseball player that he looked to become while he was in the Minor League system. It just takes some getting used to before success comes around for Moustakas.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

He struggled at the beginning of every level in his career including his start in his rookie year in 2011.  But just like the Moustakas of the past it seems that after getting used to playing at the level that is needed for success with the big club, he is beginning to come into his own.  All everyone had heard about was this Moose-something kid that was hitting the cover off of the ball at every level that he had been at but that he was not the greatest defensive third basemen in the world.  Well that, so far in 2012, has yet to be seen.  Moustakas continues to dazzle us all with his plays that he makes at third base.  Not only does he make the plays at third base but it also helps to have as sure-handed of a first basemen as the Royals do in Eric Hosmer.  Hosmer, whom Moustakas continues to give credit to after every question that is asked about his defense, is like a vacuum when it comes to making plays at first base.

Last season, Moustakas began to show that his bat would have a little bit of life in the big leagues.  After a horrible start to his career he had about as good of a month and a half as a rookie could have at the plate, but the speculation was still there.  Not anymore, Moustakas is currently hitting a very respectable .318 with 4 home runs and 15 RBIs, 3 of which came in Thursday night’s win against the New York Yankees.  In that game not only did Moustakas seem to put the team on his back at the plate but made a game winning play at the third base on a short ground ball of the bat of Alex Rodriguez.  The play was tremendous but it was a play earlier in that game that showed that Moustakas is becoming a Major League baseball player.  On a ground ball similar to that that resulted in the final out of the game, Moustakas charged at instead of making the play with his bare hand as he should have he went for it with his glove and could not get the ball into his mitt. Now of course for the last out of the game he would have a play that he could not make earlier in the game but he recognized that is was identical and adjusted his route to the ball making a bare handed play and strong throw to end the Royals home losing streak at 10.

Playing in the Major Leagues is all about the results.  But beyond that it is about not only the long term adjustments that have to be made but also the in game adjustments that may go unnoticed that matter.  The fact that he is a slow starter is not what people will begin to see, but the fact that he has made the adjustments necessary to lead a young Royals ball club to the success that everyone wants is what people will notice.  And again, patience is a virtue, and no one in Major League baseball knows that more right now than Mike Moustakas.  The “Moooooose” battle cry could be ringing through Kauffman Stadium for a long time coming.  A cheer that fans will never get tired of.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Triple-A
The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) has posted the second best record in the PCL going 17-8 trailing only the Fresno Grizzlies who are 19-6 on the campaign.  The Storm Chasers have remained hot despite having send several players up to Kansas City, some of which have since returned.

Who’s Hot

The offense has slowed down a touch, but is continuing to carry Omaha to victories.  A pair of former Naturals have been leading the charge over the last week.  Anthony Seratelli is hitting .412 for the season, and posted his first four-hit game of the season back on April 27 against Memphis.  Terry Evans, who began the season in Northwest Arkansas has been red hot since being called up.  The outfielder has posted a .378 batting average and has belted a pair of home runs in 11 games.  On the mound for the Storm Chasers Mike Montgomery has been brilliant as of late.  The left-hander has turned in three straight quality starts (at least 6 innings and three earned runs or less).  He has allowed just seven runs in his last 20 innings of work after giving up the same number in his first 7.2 innings to start the season.

Who’s Not

Jamie Romak is in limited playing time (29 at bats) is hitting just .172 with no home runs and two RBI.  On the mound for the Storm Chasers Francisely Bueno  has surrendered five runs, only two of which were earned, in his last two outings, which have totaled three innings.

Double-A
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) are back to .500 after at 12-12 after a 7-1 homestand that put them back in second place in the Texas League North.  The Naturals are heading out on the road to Springfield for four games.  They are just 2-8 away from Arvest Ballpark this season.

Who’s Hot

Wil Myers who was named the Texas League Player of the week (April 23-29) has been leading the charge for the Naturals.  The outfielder is hitting .349 while leading the Naturals in home runs with six and RBI with 15.  Another outfielder made a name for himself over the last homestand Carlo Testa.  Testa hit three home runs on the homestand including a grand slam on April 27 and two more home runs on April 30.  He is now tied for second on the team in RBI after driving home 10 runs in his last four games.

Who’s Not
Rey Navarro had a three hit game on April 26, but has been cold since.  The second baseman has gone 1-for-17 over the last four games.  On the mound for the Naturals Bryan Paukovits allowed just one run of his own in his last appearance, but did allow all three runners he inherited to cross the plate as well in two thirds of an inning.

Class-A Advanced
The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) went just 2-5 last week and after getting back to .500 the week before.   The Blue Rocks are now 10-13 on the season and sit in second place in the Carolina League’s North Division.

Who’s Hot

Brian Fletcher has turned his season around in a matter of days.  The corner outfielder has hit in eight of his last nine games and collected multiple knocks in seven of those contests.  He has raised his batting average from .152 to .305 over that same stretch.  Nick Rogers has continued to be as close to perfect as anyone on the mound, and has yet to allow a run this season.  The right-hander has allowed just six hits over nine innings walking just one and striking out nine.  His opponents are hitting just .182 against him and he has converted both of his save opportunities.

Who’s Not

Outfielder Geulin Beltre had a tough week, but showed signs of breaking out of his slump with his game yesterday tallying three hits in that contest, prior to that he had been mired in an 0-for-12 slump.  Tyler Sample allowed a season high five runs in his last outing on April 27 against Winston Salem.  Sample issued three walks and five hits in that contest.  The rough outing for Sample followed his best outing of the season, which came on April 17, when he worked six innings allowing just one run and fanning a season high seven.

Class-A
The Kane County Cougars also went 2-5 over the past week and now sit at 11-14 on the season.  They are sitting in sixth place in the Midwest League’s Western division, but are just three games behind Quad Cities for the division lead.

Who’s Hot

Starting pitcher Alexander Scott has been on point for the Cougars as of late.  Scott made his first two appearances out of the bullpen, before starting in two of his last three appearances.  In his two starts Scott has worked ten innings allowing just eight hits and two earned runs, while striking out eight.  He has posted a 1.04 ERA in five appearances.  Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio has continued to carry the bulk of the load offensively.  He is leading the team with a .340 batting average, and has nine extra base hits in 24 games this season.

Who’s Not

Right-hander Michael Giovenco has hit a rough patch in his last two outings.  The 6’6” relief pitcher has giving up seven runs over his last three innings of work.  These two outings are coming after he had allowed just two earned runs over his first seven and a third innings.  Cather Jin-Ho Shin is stuck in an 0-for-16 slump over his last five games.  The South Korean born backstop has seen his average dip down to .179 after it had been up at .258 back on April 19.

Alumni Report (Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization)

Who’s Hot

Jordan Parraz continues to be hot for the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves.  The outfielder is leading the team with a .367 batting average in 22 games.  Parraz has been his best against left-handed pitching hitting a scalding .600 (15-for-25) against them on the season.  A teammate of Parraz Dusty Hughes seems to have found a spot in the bullpen late in games.  Hughes earned three saves in his last four outings and has continued to see his ERA be one of the top ones in all of minor league baseball.  The left-hander has allowed just one run in 12.2 innings, while striking out 11, posting an ERA of just 0.71.

Blake Johnson has continued to be one of the top pitchers for Double-A Chattanooga in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.  Johnson has appeared in eight games, and worked 15.1 innings allowing just three earned runs while striking out 14.  He also ranks second on the Lookouts with a 1.76 ERA.

Tim Smith, who was released by the Kansas City Royals following spring training, has signed a deal with the Atlanta Braves.  The veteran outfielder made his debut with Class-A Advanced Lynchburg this past week going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored against Frederick on April 29.

Who’s Not

Ernesto Mejia had been off to a hot start for the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves, but has cooled off of late.  The first baseman is just 4-for-28 over his last eight games with the Braves.  He has provided some power though with five doubles and three home runs to go along with 15 RBI.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale.  Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Despite being swept by the Cleveland Indians while playing in front of their home crowd for the first time in 2012, the Kansas City Royals provided some reasons for optimism.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

After what the box scores would tell fans was an absolutely miserable weekend for Royals fans at the K, the easy thing to do would be to point out all of the things that went wrong (which were many), all of the players that need to be sent packing (one already was, there may be few more), and all of the reasons Royals fans should be concerned for the rest of the season. But now is not the time to be dwelling on Jarrod Dyson’s defense, the Royals’ starting pitching, Mitch Maier’s relief pitching appearance, or the distance of Travis Hafner’s home run on Sunday. Sure, Luke Hochevar had a bad half inning. Though he wasn’t helped by his defense or an accidental check-swing bloop hit to right by Shelley Duncan, he needs to be able to limit the damage and pitch his way out of those situations without giving up 7 runs. Sure, after a decent first showing against the Los Angeles Angels, Jonathan Sanchez was erratic agains the Indians on Saturday, lost control of his pitch count, and couldn’t find the plate, unless it was being met by a Cleveland Indians’ player’s bat. Did fans really expect anything different? If Sanchez goes out and throws a 2-hitter with 11 K’s in his next outing, he will have, in 3 outings, perfectly exemplified both why the Royals wanted to acquire him and why he was available in the first place. That is who he is. Was anyone really surprised when, on Sunday, the imposter who had been running around in the Mendoza jersey revealed his true identity to be none other than Luis Mendoza himself? He of the 7.21 career ERA?

A message to Royals fans: let’s take a deep breath, back away from the ledge, and focus on the things that went well over the weekend, of which there were several:

1. The Royals did not quit in any of the 3 games. Some might consider putting Maier in as a relief pitcher on Sunday as a sign of quitting, but when the bullpen has been exhausted the way it was all weekend, and with no day off on Monday, that was about survival and living to fight another day. The Royals gave up 7 runs in the first game, and lost 8-3 with the final Indians’ run being scored on a Home Run in the 9th inning. Watching the game, you had the feeling they might have a big inning in them that could get them back in the game. They threatened several times, but couldn’t make it happen. Imagine what the final score would have been had the 2005 Royals gotten down 7-0 in the top of the first…ok, never mind. The next night, the Royals fought back from a 9-2 deficit to tie the game at 9-9, before losing 11-9 in extra innings. That speaks for itself. And on Sunday, even with the game getting out of hand, the Royals still managed to put up 7 runs.

2. Mike Moustakas appears to have grown up quickly. Despite ending the weekend with his batting average sitting at just .257, Moustakas is hitting the ball extremely hard, playing amazing defense, and does not seem to resemble the awestruck rookie he appeared to be much of last season.

3. Billy Butler is still Billy Butler. With 8 RBI’s in the first 9 games of the season, Butler is on a torrid run-producing pace. He appears poised for a true breakout season. It is hard to believe he is still only 25 years old (for 2 more days-Happy early birthday, Country Breakfast!). Butler is certainly the most underrated hitter on this team.

4. The Royals have something in Everett Teaford. What his role might be in the future will be determined, but the performance he put up in 4 innings of relief on Friday (1 Hit, 2 Walks, 3 SO, 0 Runs) was impressive.

5. Kelvin Herrera is flat out nasty. Though the radar gun at Kauffman is less than trustworthy, it had him clocked as high as 102 over the weekend. He gave up the home run on Friday night to the first batter he faced, but after that, he was un-hittable.

So settle down, Royals fans. This may not be the last weekend we see like this. There will be more bumps in the road. And though it may be time to hit the reset button on your expectations, just enjoy watching what is still the most exciting collection of young talent in all of baseball.

2011 saw the Royals’ top hitting prospects take a step forward, while many of their pitching prospects took a step sideways, down or out.

Spring training saw a similar result, as many of the position players the Royals are banking on flourished, while pitching remained the big question mark.

As of Friday, the games count. But the results from spring training are worth some analysis as the Royals head north with high aspirations.

The Royals’ opening day starter, Bruce Chen, probably deserves a pass this spring. He’s been through this countless times, and he wasn’t pitching to win a spot in the rotation. He was doing what he needs to do to be ready for the season.

Courtesy of Minda Haas

That said, Chen was not good in Arizona. He surrendered 37 hits in 22 innings, including an alarming six homers. Opponents batted .378 against him, and his ERA was an unsightly 9.41.

Another lock to start, Luke Hochevar hopes to put his roller-coaster highs and lows behind him. He was very solid in spring, surrendering just a 2.84 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Best of all, he allowed just one homer in 19 innings pitched.

The stud of the spring was undoubtedly Luis Mendoza. I predicted back in late February that Mendoza could provide the surprise boost the Royals pitching staff needs. The 28-year-old righty got credit for four wins in the spring. Opponents could barely scratch out a hit against him – 11 in 16 innings. His ERA was just 0.54 and his WHIP was 0.84.

If Mendoza was the stud of the spring, then Mike Montgomery was the dud. While KC had a list of about 8 guys who were seriously in contention for rotation slots, the door would certainly have been held open for the 22-year-old Montgomery. But Montgomery flubbed the opportunity and manager Ned Yost was noticeably disappointed in the big lefty. I wrote last week about why Montgomery might be headed in the wrong direction (link).

Not far behind Montgomery was second-year candidate Danny Duffy. The Royals stood by Duffy during his painful learning experience in year one. But this spring, he looked no less lost than in 2011. He struggled his way to an 8.31 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP.

Duffy was terrible, and his main competition, Felipe Paulino, was equally bad. Paulino will start the season rehabbing an injury, most likely in Omaha, and he’ll have to earn a return to KC after posting a 7.71 spring ERA.

Horrifyingly, Duffy and Paulino were not the worst pitchers in Surprise (aside from Chen). That honor goes to Jonathan Sanchez, who got bombed this spring after coming over from San Francisco, supposedly to give the Royals an “ace.”

Sanchez gave up 17 hits and 13 runs in just 11.1 innings. His 2.03 WHIP led all Royals with more than 10 innings pitched. He was even worse in the exhibition game in San Diego, where he allowed two home runs in just two innings.

Last year’s All Star rep Aaron Crow made the switch to the rotation, made one start, then switched back after Joakim Soria blew out his arm. Crow was solid, allowing opponents to bat just .238 in the split role. He looks comfortable back in the bullpen and will look to put to rest fears that he was a half-season wonder.

Crow’s fellow closers, Jonathan Broxton and Greg Holland were equally solid in Arizona. Likely bullpen mates Tim Collins, Louis Coleman were ok as well.

Two other pleasant revelations were relievers Kelvin Herrera and Jose Mijares. Herrera has been lights-out at every level, and he was no less dominant in Surprise. He struck out 15 hitters in 13 innings, and his ERA was just 1.38. He gave up just five walks and no homers. I expected him to start the season in Omaha, but the Royals found they just couldn’t leave him behind.

Mijares also will start the year in KC after posting a 0.82 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in Arizona. He struck out just six in 11 innings, but hopefully will continue to lock down left-handed hitters in the big leagues.

One guy KC appeared ready to give up on made a solid case for himself in Arizona – Sean O’Sullivan. The big righty allowed opponents to bat just .268 against him, and his WHIP was a an impressive 1.13. He’ll start the season in Omaha, but hopefully will prove a reliable insurance plan as both a starter and reliever if needed in KC.

The relievers performed about as well as expected in Arizona. Crow shifted to the pen when Soria was lost, and Herrera and Mijares should make the bullpen collection dynamite.

But the rotation candidates, other than Hochevar, performed worse than was imaginable. Were it not for the incredible work by Mendoza, the spring would be a complete failure for the starters.

Only time will tell if Mendoza is as good, and Sanchez is as bad, as the numbers from Surprise would say they are.

I attended the Futures Game at Kauffman stadium last year, hoping to catch a glimpse of the prospects that earned a #1 ranking for the Kansas City Royals by Baseball America.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Let me tell you, from that one exhibition, I came away with a new twist on an old phrase:

“I have seen the future, and it is Mike Montgomery.”

On that April 4 afternoon, all the top prospects were on display. Danny Duffy and John Lamb looked good, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Wil Myers looked ok, and Christian Colon looked awful.

But Mike Montgomery stood head and shoulders above them all.

No one was surprised. After all, he lit up spring training in Arizona and was only sent to Omaha for a little more seasoning.

Fast-forward one year, and Montgomery now not only isn’t ready for the big leagues, he seems headed in the wrong direction.

While all the news in Surprise this month swirled around contract extensions and injuries, Montgomery was quietly demoted to the minor league camp as the Royals trimmed their roster. This time around, he was one of the first to be cut.

That he didn’t make the roster isn’t shocking. But his downward spiral is. The big left-hander got blasted in his two trips to the mound in the Cactus League – 2 2/3 innings, six runs, six hits, three walks.

That disappointment comes when we all hoped for a bounce-back from the dismal 5-11 record and combustible 5.32 ERA he posted in Omaha last year.

“It was a struggle for him this year,” manager Ned Yost told reporters in Surprise. “He didn’t command the ball.”

Reading between the lines, Yost seems pretty frustrated with Montgomery’s showing.

“We wanted to see him come in and… compete for one of these spots, and it just never developed. We want him to go back and get his innings. He’s a guy that we think can come help us sometime over the course of the year, but that’s up to his performance.”

Obviously, Yost saw Montgomery as an integral piece of the youth movement. But as long as the prospects flounder, Yost has to continue to cobble together a rotation of veteran castoffs and stopgaps. (Jonathan Sanchez, Bruce Chen, Felipe Paulino, etc.)

What exactly is Montgomery’s problem?

Much was made last year of his disagreement with the organization over training methods. Montgomery has been a devotee of “long-toss” exercise, which the Royals don’t fully endorse.

Without any inside information, and because Yost gives no hint to Montgomery’s health being an issue, one has to speculate that one the following is occurring:

1) Montgomery is employing his own chosen training techniques, but they aren’t working.
2) Montgomery is being forced to follow the Royals’ prescribed regimen, and it’s not working.
3) Montgomery is allowing his frustration with the organization to affect his performance, and his “coach-ability.”

This is pure speculation, obviously. But something is most definitely wrong.

Back in January, Baseball America rated Montgomery the Royals’ top prospect. But he’s slipping down MLB.com’s list. Last year, Montgomery was rated the #14 prospect by MLB.com. This year, he fills the #31 spot.

That’s not the direction you want your stock heading.

I’m sure the Royals aren’t ready to give up on Montgomery yet. But with the “player to be named later” looming out there after the Humberto Quintero trade, I wouldn’t be surprised it that player turns out to be Montgomery. If Montgomery doesn’t want to train the way the Royals want him to, he may need to be sent elsewhere.

One year ago, the Royals farm system was flush with prospects. Former pitcher and current announcer Jeff Montgomery said at that time that the team was so loaded, it could handle failure from a fraction of those prospects.

But now, with injuries and attrition, each prospect seems like a precious resource. It’s painful to see any of them fail, particularly one of the most highly touted of all.